FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• FirstCash Holdings, Inc. reached a new 52-week high of $148.75, with last traded shares at $148.60 and a volume of 294,185 shares.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42, up from its previous $0.38, with a payout ratio of 25.81% and an annualized yield of 1.1%.
• Analysts generally hold a positive outlook on FirstCash, with an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.33, reflecting overall confidence in the stock's future performance.

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $148.75 and last traded at $148.60, with a volume of 294185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCFS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of FirstCash to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 price objective on FirstCash in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstCash currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.33.

FirstCash Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 3.12. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50-day moving average price is $134.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.72.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.13. FirstCash had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 8.61%.The business had revenue of $830.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $820.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.81%.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 69,024 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.49, for a total value of $9,559,133.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 932,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $129,205,353.42. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.93, for a total transaction of $510,627.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,252,737.33. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,900 shares of company stock valued at $15,193,007 over the last quarter. 2.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in FirstCash during the first quarter worth $55,340,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 26,021.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 259,651 shares of the company's stock worth $31,241,000 after buying an additional 258,657 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 1,350.3% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 250,900 shares of the company's stock worth $33,907,000 after buying an additional 233,600 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 349.3% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 294,281 shares of the company's stock worth $30,488,000 after buying an additional 228,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,701,000. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstCash Company Profile

FirstCash Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers.

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